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Great Lakes Loons welcome 'Duck Dynasty' star to Midland

Justin Martin 1

Justin Martin of the reality show "Duck Dynasty" poses with players from the Great Lakes Loons Friday, June 13, before throwing out the first pitch during a game against the Lansing Lugnuts.
(Courtesy | Scott Statson)

Duck Dynasty's Justin Martin threw the first pitch Friday, June 13 inside Midland's Dow Diamond before the Great Lakes Loons took on the Lansing Lugnuts.Courtesy | Scott Statson

MIDLAND, MI — It was cold outside Friday, June 13, but reality TV personality Justin Martin received a warm welcome in Midland.

The "Duck Dynasty" star visited Dow Diamond Friday evening to sign autographs and throw out the first pitch at a Great Lakes Loons game.

"It looks like a lot of kids," Martin said, looking out over the crowd before the game. "They'll all be fired up."

The large, bearded man with the Louisiana accent said he travels quite frequently to meet fans when the show is on break from filming. After three years on the show, he has become accustomed to receiving attention wherever he goes. But that wasn't always the case.

"At first it was a little different getting used to it; walking through airports and people you've never seen saying your name," he said. "How in the world do you know me cause I don't know you from Adam."

"Duck Dynasty" has received higher ratings than any other show in A&E history.

"You realize how big a scope that show really encompasses," he said when talking about the large number of fans he runs across.

"It's all a good blessing," he said. "We use it as a platform to spread our good news about Jesus and move on down the road."

"I can throw a baseball," he said. "It's been awhile but as long as I don't make SportCenter like 50 Cent did a couple weeks ago, I'm good."

— Jessica Shepherd is an entertainment reporter with MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact her at 989-996-0687, email her at jessica_shepherd@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter or Facebook. You can also hear her Fridays at 8 a.m. on 102.5 WIOG's Nate and Rachel in the Morning.